First Look at Michael Chernus as John Wayne Gacy in True-Crime Series ‘Devil in Disguise’

Michael Chernus is unveiling his John Wayne Gacy.

The Severance and Orange Is the New Black star plays the elusive serial killer in the Peacock’s true-crime series launching in the fall, and Chernus makes a brief appearance in the role at the end of the eerie teaser trailer released on Tuesday (below).

All eight episodes release Thursday, Oct. 16 on Peacock.

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy is executive produced by showrunner Patrick Macmanus (Dr. Death, The Girl From Plainville) and alongside with Chernus, the series stars Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us), Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer), Chris Sullivan (This is Us) and Marin Ireland (The Irishman).

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy will explore the heartbreaking stories of Gacy’s victims and the immense grief and trauma that their families endured while his crimes went unnoticed for so long.

Chernus said he was initially hesitant to take on the role. “Absolutely in no way did I want to be a part of something that was glorifying John Gacy,” he told Vanity Fair. “The victims, if they’re named at all, only [appear] in their relation to the person who perpetrated the crimes.”

It was Macmanus who convinced him, telling him, “Gacy’s not going to be at the center of this, so you won’t be in every scene.” Macmanus told the outlet he had similar, initial hesitations, citing the backlash against Ryan Murphy’s true-crime Netflix hit series Monster: “I honestly didn’t want this to be Dahmer. And truth be told, at the time, I didn’t really know how to make it anything but that.”

Here’s the series synopsis: “From 1972-1978, 33 young men were kidnapped, murdered and buried in a crawl space beneath their killer’s house. And no one was the wiser. Not for all those years. Why? He was charming and funny. Had a good, All-American job. Was a community leader. He even volunteered to entertain sick kids… while dressed as a clown. Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy peels back the twisted layers of Gacy’s life while weaving in heartrending stories of his victims; exploring the grief, guilt, and trauma of their families and friends; and exposing the systemic failures, missed opportunities and societal prejudices that fueled his reign of terror.”

Executive producers also include Noah Oppenheim (Zero Day, The Maze Runner, Jackie) and Liz Cole (John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, The Thing About Pam) for NBC News Studios, Ashley Michel Hoban (Dr. Death 2, The Girl From Plainville), Ahmadu Garba (Dr. Death, Halo), and Kelly Funke for Littleton Road Productions. Macmanus directs the finale. The series from UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, filmed in Toronto.